Saints, Hilliard Wear Down Falcons, 26-17 : New Orleans: Pint-sized back shows gallons of talent, gets 158 yards and a touchdown in win over Atlanta.

ATLANTA —  Dalton Hilliard’s size isn’t the only thing deceptive about him.

Just ask his teammate, New Orleans quarterback Bobby Hebert.

“‘He’s not little, he’s short,” Hebert said. “Our nickname for him is ‘Little Rock’ because he’s solid as a rock. He’s just short in stature, not in playing ability.”

Hilliard, a 5-foot-8, 204-pound running back, ran for a career-high 158 yards and one touchdown in 29 carries as the New Orleans Saints overcame four turnovers and beat the Atlanta Falcons, 26-17, on Sunday.

Buford Jordan’s fourth-quarter touchdowns on runs of two and one yards erased a 17-12 deficit and gave the Saints (6-5) their fifth victory in six games and their sixth consecutive win over Atlanta (3-8).

“Hilliard is a tremendous running back,” Falcon linebacker Tim Green said. “He cuts it back as good as anyone in the league. “It was discouraging to see him keep chalking up yards on you. It wears down your defense when they can run that successfully.”

The Saints, trailed, 10-3, at halftime but went to their running game in the second half. Hilliard made the strategy work, gaining 71 yards in eight carries on a 75-yard drive that ended with his 22-yard touchdown run to tie the score, 10-10, early in the third quarter.

“He always does great against us,” Atlanta Coach Marion Campbell said of Hilliard, who had 127 yards against the Falcons last season, his previous career best.

“He was darting and weaving in there and we just couldn’t get him down,” Campbell said. “He carried the load for them today.”

Not three minutes after Hilliard’s touchdown, the Saints broke the tie, taking a 12-10 lead when Brian Forde broke through the middle and blocked Scott Fulhage’s punt out of the end zone for a safety.